No dual screens at our family/friend movie nights, to respect neighbor and protect brains. Nicholas Carr's book "The Shallows" talks about the damage this is doing to attention spans, critical (deep) thinking, patience, impulse control and more. What's worse is it leads to people pulling out phones while conversing with actual people! If you can't even wait an hour to look up an actor and discuss what they've been in AFTER the movie with your friends, something is wrong. The immediate gratification kills post-show conversation and exploration of these things *together*. On a lighter note, these are the same people who - after the movie - misunderstand character motivations, mistakenly think there are plot holes, etc. NO dude, it's because you were on your phone and not paying attention!
If you occasionally want to dual-screen when you watch alone, go for it. But without moderation, you'll find yourself too addicted to withhold doing it in group settings.
Couldn’t agree more, James! Thinking deeply, impulse control, communication with others - it’s all concerning. Be present where we are.
Re: distracted people critiquing the movie; yes! They will miss total scenes and then lament the movie lacking the very scene they were texting in the middle of. Glad we can “vent”in the comments…ha!
Attention is a scarce resource and we’re used to very customized and niche content, but that leaves us experiencing our own worlds, even in the same living room! Grateful to find your substack!
It seems that this idea not only applies to dual screens but just screens in general. What idea am I referring to? The idea of singular focus. I really try hard to never be on my screen in the presence of any other intentional activity. In other words, I think that looking at your phone in the presence of any community event/activity is detrimental to the activity and to our ability to focus and, in general, love for neighbor. I realize that this isn't completely possible in all situations, but shouldn't we try? I even try hard not to be on my screen walking through the grocery store (unless the list that my wife sent me is on there because of my poor memory! LOL!). So, yea, definitely not an option during a movie. Thanks John!
No dual screens at our family/friend movie nights, to respect neighbor and protect brains. Nicholas Carr's book "The Shallows" talks about the damage this is doing to attention spans, critical (deep) thinking, patience, impulse control and more. What's worse is it leads to people pulling out phones while conversing with actual people! If you can't even wait an hour to look up an actor and discuss what they've been in AFTER the movie with your friends, something is wrong. The immediate gratification kills post-show conversation and exploration of these things *together*. On a lighter note, these are the same people who - after the movie - misunderstand character motivations, mistakenly think there are plot holes, etc. NO dude, it's because you were on your phone and not paying attention!
If you occasionally want to dual-screen when you watch alone, go for it. But without moderation, you'll find yourself too addicted to withhold doing it in group settings.
Couldn’t agree more, James! Thinking deeply, impulse control, communication with others - it’s all concerning. Be present where we are.
Re: distracted people critiquing the movie; yes! They will miss total scenes and then lament the movie lacking the very scene they were texting in the middle of. Glad we can “vent”in the comments…ha!
Attention is a scarce resource and we’re used to very customized and niche content, but that leaves us experiencing our own worlds, even in the same living room! Grateful to find your substack!
Great point, Kara! Welcome to the FMN community. Looking forward to learning from you.
It seems that this idea not only applies to dual screens but just screens in general. What idea am I referring to? The idea of singular focus. I really try hard to never be on my screen in the presence of any other intentional activity. In other words, I think that looking at your phone in the presence of any community event/activity is detrimental to the activity and to our ability to focus and, in general, love for neighbor. I realize that this isn't completely possible in all situations, but shouldn't we try? I even try hard not to be on my screen walking through the grocery store (unless the list that my wife sent me is on there because of my poor memory! LOL!). So, yea, definitely not an option during a movie. Thanks John!
Great point Scott! Such a practical way to seek to love our neighbor. Thank you for sharing.